22. Golden Maze: The Golden Toad 3
Surprisingly, none of the three immortals stepped forward; instead, they huddled together and discussed the matter earnestly.
Tang Xi leaned closer to the wishing cocoon, tilting her head up to examine it carefully. "Why are the ends thin and the middle thick? Doesn't it look like a shuttle?"
Beichen humbly asked, "What is a shuttle?"
Gui Fang exclaimed in surprise, "Never seen a loom before? No wonder you're the eldest young master of the Bei Chen family."
Bei Chen's temper flared up instantly. "You have a big problem with me? You keep picking a fight with me every other sentence? Besides, looms are from that era, it's normal that I've never seen one before!"
Gui Fang covered his mouth slightly, "No objection, I just like teasing you."
The two bickered for a few moments and then started to dislike each other again. Tang Xi's seemingly calm state of mind was suddenly disrupted: "Stop arguing! Both of you, say less!"
Pipi seized the opportunity to act innocent: "That's right, you guys aren't as sensible as me. I never cause trouble for Tangxi!"
Tang Xi quickly pinched Pipi's beak to change the subject, "Well, wishing cocoons are good, they can be used as material for our thesis."
Gui Fang, with his foul mouth, didn't let Tang Xi off the hook either, pointing a finger at the wishing cocoon that was constantly absorbing the fluffy things in mid-air: "Our three departments are completely unrelated, are you out of your mind?"
Tangxi and Xu raised their hands, catching a few wisps of fluffy material that floated out from the wall and flew towards the wishing cocoon through their fingers. They crushed the fluffy material in their palms, and the pale golden material quickly shrank.
Tangxi and Dunwu: "On the application of the Golden Maze Wishing Cocoon in terms of the extensibility and cutting sharpness of the poisonous silk?"
The pale golden cocoon silk, as soft as cotton, was crumpled twice in Tang Xihe's palm and immediately deformed into a ball. Pipi stretched its neck and grabbed it, pulling it into a noodle shape with Tang Xihe's help. As if finding a new toy, Pipi stretched its neck again and pecked at the cocoon silk ball.
yes!
Gui Fang Wu Di's eyes lit up. "How come I didn't think of that! Gold is malleable! The narrow passages in the maze have made my brain unable to think!"
Bei Chen's eyes twitched as he followed, finding Gui Fang Wu Di's bizarre personality—so ruthless that he would even curse himself—utterly baffling.
“As for you, you’re even easier to write about,” Tang Xihe suddenly turned around, picked the silk ball out of Pipi’s mouth, and threw it at Beichen.
"The martial arts department should have the easiest way to find research materials... The relationship between the strength of spiritual energy impact and the diameter of spiritual energy waves, in the practical report of blessed lands—taking the Golden Maze as an example?"
Beichen followed for a moment, chuckling awkwardly as he pondered the lengthy title of the paper. He then brushed off the silk ball, pointed to his nose in disbelief.
"Use spiritual power to blast away the entire Golden Labyrinth? Me?"
"no!"
Tang Xi was shocked: "I mean you need to control your spiritual power more precisely! Don't you think you're using your spiritual power too aggressively! Gui Fang uses his strange energy to unravel the mystery as much as possible, but you use overwhelming force directly! Why did the teacher send you here for the trial? Having abundant spiritual power is not the same as being powerful."
Do I? Do I have this problem?
Bei Chen nodded absentmindedly, wondering for a moment how Tang Xi knew that it was the teacher who wanted him to come to the secret realm for the trial, and then he kept thinking about the long and tedious title of the paper...
Just as I was about to write down the title of the paper, I suddenly realized something was wrong.
Bei Chen was furious: "I heard you have 0 points? How do you use spiritual power? You can even condense your qi into a sword! What are you hiding from me again!"
"..."
The three of them huddled together, chattering away, oblivious to the world around them. The more they talked, the more excited they became, and the tense atmosphere instantly melted away. The old man with the golden toad listened, his brain completely blank.
What's going on?
Is the current Immortal Master so unpredictable? One minute he's giving me the cold shoulder, the next he's making up.
Tangxi and Pipi in her arms couldn't understand, so they tilted their heads and looked left and right. "You two have actually stopped arguing? What is a thesis? How could it make you two make up?"
Gui Fang looked inscrutable and said, "Arguing is nothing compared to a thesis."
Bei Chen also said, "I hope you'll understand in the future, and I also hope you'll never understand."
Pipi was even more confused. Had these two been corrupted by Tangxi? Their speech was all over the place, but they weren't about to back down, saying, "I can read too!"
The long-forgotten Golden Toad couldn't help but croak loudly, "Everyone! The wishing cocoon will escape, so hurry up and make a wish!"
Tang Xi then remembered that the Golden Toad was there, and smiled apologetically, "We have no wishes, we just came out of curiosity."
How can I continue without your wishes?! I've already boasted to my underlings! The Golden Toad's eyes widened, "What are you doing here looking for the Wishing Cocoon if you have no wishes?!"
Gui Fang Wu Di turned his head away: "No way?"
The Golden Toad Elder froze, realizing his attitude was a bit strange, and immediately changed his tune, "Ahem, I mean, you immortals are indeed extraordinary, but even cultivators need immortal coins to buy magic artifacts, crystals, and elixirs, right?"
Gui Fang pondered, "Bei Chen needs it, right? Isn't your sword broken? Maybe the Wishing Cocoon can really spit out that exact same sword."
"I?"
Bei Chen scratched his chin, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I haven't decided yet... The sword I used before was a gift from the principal. It was very meaningful, and I carried it with me every day. Unfortunately, it has fulfilled its purpose, and not even a single fragment remains. But..."
"But what?"
Bei Chen hesitated before speaking, "Actually, that sword was too heavy, and I never felt comfortable using it, so I was too embarrassed to say it."
Gui Fang Wu Di's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "That's because you're from the Bei Chen family, so the school gave you a broken sword that's not even a low-grade magic weapon! And you've been so reluctant to use it for three years?"
Bei Chen finally seized an opportunity to retort: "Who's like you? I heard that your Weird Qi Department didn't give us anything?"
"But I'm the only student in the Mysterious Aura Department."
Seeing the atmosphere gradually becoming tense, Tang Xi immediately sounded the alarm: "Stop! Let's think about the thesis first! Since we're already here, why not gather the thesis materials while we're at it?"
The Golden Toad gritted his teeth and suddenly shouted, "Fellow immortals, stop chatting and make a wish!"
"The wishing cocoon is running away!"
sough--
As if echoing the words of the Golden Toad Elder, the Wishing Cocoon actually began to move slowly.
This pale golden cocoon, seemingly encasing something, slowly rotated while suspended in mid-air, like a fading top. Meanwhile, the translucent threads extending from the walls and connecting to the wishing cocoon floated in sync with its movements, vaguely seeping into the surrounding mountain walls.
"Judging from this, the wishing cocoon is formed by silk threads spreading from the wall. If it runs away, these soft silk threads will re-enter the mountain wall?"
As he spoke, Gui Fang extended his right claw and stuck it into the pale golden cocoon. "So the existence of the Wishing Cocoon is actually related to the walls of the entire labyrinth?"
After a pause, Gui Fang Wu Di's eyes suddenly lit up, and he could clearly feel the soft yet resilient texture of the cocoon from his left fingertips and palm.
Gui Fang was astonished, his eyes widening slightly. He hadn't been corroded at all!
Is he able to touch the wishing cocoon?
Gui Fang, not believing in superstition, applied a little force with his left hand, and a clear palm print appeared on the wishing cocoon, but it did not corrode or turn into water, nor did it show any signs of burning.
"Uh, well... I don't know. I only handle finding people to clean up gold and silver jewelry. I don't know where the wishing cocoon came from."
The Golden Toad Elder felt a pang of heartache watching this, wondering what this sharp-tongued and fierce immortal was up to. "Immortal Elder," he said, "this wishing cocoon is a treasure; it can't be treated like this..."
Gui Fang Wu Di withdrew his hand and examined the wishing cocoon floating in mid-air with great interest. Suddenly, he looked at Tang Xi and asked, "Did you already know we would encounter the wishing cocoon? How could you come up with two thesis titles in such a short time?"
Tangxi was startled.
This was a misunderstanding. Although he was a reader in his previous life, he genuinely didn't know that there was a golden labyrinth in the blessed land. So, without thinking, he blurted out, "No! I didn't! Do I need to think about the paper?"
"..."
A subtle silence fell.
The Golden Toad, unable to bear it any longer, closed its eyes, gritted its teeth, and roared, waving its two front paws: "It ran away! It ran away!"
The empty room echoed with the half-angry, half-helpless shouts of the Golden Toad Elder. Everyone saw the wishing cocoon, which was slowly peeling its silk threads outward, suddenly speed up and drill into the wall. After a few rustling sounds, the empty room was quiet, and there was no trace of any cotton threads in the air.
The Golden Toad is a bit tired.
Why don't you just ask them to leave already? There are plenty of stupid immortals out there.
The Golden Toad Elder was preparing to issue an order to leave, "Immortals, when do you plan to depart for Junxing Mountain..."
"I won't go for now," the short immortal suddenly said.
Golden Toad choked: "Uh? How come..."
Tangxi leaned closer to the mountain wall and scraped off a small piece of mud. The wall, mixed with fine gold dust, revealed a fingernail-sized patch of clear gold.
Tang Xi hesitated for a moment, then smiled at the Golden Toad Elder and said, "Excuse me, Golden Toad Elder, we'll be bothering you for another two days. We're a bit tired now, could you please change our room?"
Before Jin Chan Lao could express his opinion, Gui Fang and Bei Chen shouted at the same time.
"I'm going to crawl through this dog hole for another two days!"
"Are you really going to write a thesis about the Golden Maze? How can your Earth Immortal faction write about blessed lands and grotto-heavens?"
·
The group, led to the new guest room by the Golden Toad, all grabbed the nearest bed and collapsed onto it.
"I'm so tired. What did I even do this morning?"
Gui Fang Wu Di rubbed his temples. "You only went to see the wishing cocoon? Why do I feel like I did so much?"
"Even arguing with people gets tiring, huh?" Pipi sighed as she flopped onto the bed.
What time is it now?
Bei Chen sat cross-legged on the bed and looked around. "The windows here are made of soft light leaves, not real sunlight. After staying in this maze for so long, I don't even know if it's day or night."
Tang Xi and Mo Mo observed the crowd.
After entering the Golden Maze, everyone, including Tangxi and myself, behaved differently. Pipi was unusually quiet and listless, lying still without moving.
Can even monsters affect this maze?
Tang Xi said to everyone, "Take a short rest, don't fall asleep, let's go tear down the wall."
Gui Fang opened one eye: "You just woke up and you want to go back to sleep?"
Tang Xi asked in return, "Aren't you tired too?"
"A little." Gui Fang turned his back to Tang Xi and rolled into the bed, soon his even breathing could be heard.
Fall asleep instantly?
Tang Xi and An An clicked their tongues in amazement, unsure whether to praise Gui Fang for his magnanimity or scold him for being heartless.
At first, Tangxi thought that Gui Fang Wu Di had a sinister personality, but after getting to know him, she found that he was like an unpredictable creature, a sharp-tongued guy who only cared about his own comfort.
If my guess is correct...
Tang Xi placed the unconscious Pipi on the bed, turned around and got out of bed, whispering in the direction Bei Chen was following, "Hey, should we go and clean the wall..."
Bei Chen remained seated cross-legged, his spiritual energy circulating for what seemed like several cycles, but his head was already almost touching his chest.
"Bei Chen, come along!" Tang Xi called out in a whisper.
Startled by being called by his full name, Bei Chen tensed up and became extremely alert. This sudden call brought him back to reality, and in that instant, Bei Chen clearly caught the strange sound once more.
"Click, click, click..."
here we go again!
It's not an illusion!
Bei Chen was startled, flipped over and grabbed Tang Xihe's wrist, making a shushing gesture with his other hand: "Shh! Did you hear me!"
Tangxi was startled by Beichen's excitement and hid back against the wall. Suddenly, she also heard a faint mechanical sound.
"Click, click, click..."
"Um?"
Tang Xi was astonished. "I heard it too."
Sure enough, it was inside the wall.
Tang Xi mouthed, "Get out?"
Bei Chen nodded and followed Tang Xi and Xiao Xin to open the guest room door. In the deserted corridor, the voice became even clearer.
"Click, click, click..."
It's faster now?
The two exchanged a glance, understanding each other's meaning from their eyes, and continued to listen attentively, inching closer to the direction of the sound.
—It seems very close?
Wait, why is the sound so close?
It sounded as if it was coming from inside the wall right next to the guest room!
"You caused trouble without calling me?"
A plaintive voice suddenly rang out from behind Bei Chen's companion's head.
"Aaaaaah!"
Bei Chen screamed and swung his hand back to slap Gui Fang, but stopped abruptly just before the chop was about to land. "Ah, Gui Fang? When did you wake up?"
"When the two of you sneak out to play without inviting me."
Gui Fang Wu Di yawned. "I don't know if it's because the aisle is too narrow, but I feel really weak. What's wrong? Did you guys find something?"
Tang Xi pulled Gui Fang to the wall. "Listen."
Gui Fang inexplicably stuck it on, "So mysterious."
"Click, click, click..."
Gui Fang also heard the mechanical, repetitive sound, which was so faint that it would be impossible to detect unless one was pressed tightly against the wall.
"What's going on?"
Tangxi and Beichen also pressed themselves against the wall to listen. "The speed has slowed down. I guess the speed at which that thing operates might be related to the number of people sleeping in the guest rooms."
Gui Fang said in a whisper, "To correct you, no one is sleeping in the guest room right now, except for your Pipi."
The sounds coming from inside the walls were so faint that even Gui Fang unconsciously lowered his voice. After listening for a few seconds, he became a little impatient. "Should we just blast it?"
Tang Xi immediately stopped her: "No! Do you want to attract the Golden Toad? You'll just lead us astray and make us dizzy!"
Bei Chen suddenly realized, "Gui Fang, so you're not sleepy? You're dizzy in a maze? There are actually people in the world who get dizzy in a maze?"
Gui Fang fell into self-doubt.
"...Do I get dizzy in mazes?"
How do I break through the wall?
Wait a minute, the guest room doors also slide out automatically from the 'wall', so maybe there weren't any guest rooms to begin with, and this maze is actually maneuverable?
Tang Xi thought carefully, imitating how the Golden Toad opened the guest room, and felt around on the wall to find the spot with the loudest clicking sound. Then she approached the mountain wall, jumped three times on the spot, and flicked the mushrooms on the mountain wall.
The mushrooms withered instantly. The tiny, fluorescent mushrooms, barely an inch tall, fell off as if carrying away a large section of roots, making a snapping sound as they burrowed towards the group's feet.
The three of them had no time to care about "why the mushrooms had such long stems," and stared in disbelief as the wall door in front of them slowly opened to both sides.
What appeared before the three of them was a huge automatic spinning machine, the clicking sound becoming even clearer.
"What is this?" Bei Chen's entourage had never seen such a machine before. "It can weave so much wadding..."
Inside the empty room behind the door, a huge spinning wheel was running automatically. As the spinning wheel turned, many snow-white, fluffy things flew out of thin air and slowly drifted toward the surrounding mountain walls, then softly and bonelessly slipped into the cracks in the walls.
Is it a spinning wheel weaving air?
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